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Today's News

However, mention the name in the south, particularly Florida, and Ellis's name was synonymous with two things: hard work and Florida State athletics.

Ellis passed away far too soon at the age of 54 on Nov. 19, nine days after suffering a heart attack. According to reports, the longtime Florida State University beat writer was in the middle of writing a story when the heart attack happened and he made sure his wife e-mailed in his copy before calling 911.

There will be a 40 percent increase, from $15 to $21, in the per-player fee for youth football, soccer, baseball, lacrosse and activities for the park district playing fields.

The Evergreen Park and Recreation District board voted Nov. 18 against a series of gradual increases to $30 in 2013 and agreed to revisit the fee-increase policy by the end of the first quarter of 2010.

The board rejected the idea of charging teams $45 per hour to use the synthetic turf fields, at least for the time being.

The board of the Evergreen fire district has postponed until Dec. 8 a decision on whether to change or eliminate the cost-of-living raise included in the draft of the 2010 budget.

Evergreen Fire/Rescue consists of 32 full-time and four part-time employees. There are also about 80 unpaid volunteer firefighters. The paid staff has received a 3.5 percent cost-of-living increase for the last two years.

Wulf Recreation Center is holding a grand reopening on Saturday, Nov. 21, to celebrate the remodeling and expansion of the old weight room and other improvements to the building on South Olive Road near Evergreen High School.

From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., visitors of all ages are invited to partake of activities, balloons, music, arts and crafts, and food and beverages. The day-care center is offering a one-hour-free deal, and there will be several free classes and demonstrations during the day. A ribbon-cutting will kick off the festivities at 9 a.m.

The printed edition of the Christmas Bird Count for 2008, the 109th CBC, just came in lat week’s mail.

As usual it is full of fascinating facts and bits of information. There are 59,813 participants and 661 species, plus 38 forms and 28 introduced exotics seen on the counts. Two of these were new, never seen on CBC before. They were the Jack snipe at Eugene, Ore., and the little bunting at Greater Massett, British Columbia.

I’ve had my share of senior moments the last week, more of them unforgettable than forgetful.

No single piece of mail can more brutally deliver mortality’s sharp stick in the eye than the dreaded AARP membership packet, and my own little reminder of the five-decade milestone came when seniors and their concerns were uppermost on my mind.

It’s ironic, isn’t it? Here we have access to more information than at any time in history, yet more than ever it seems we prefer to get our information from just the handful of sources reflecting only our own world views.

My friends on the left visit websites like Daily Kos, Huffington Post and Talking Points Memo. They listen to 760 AM on the radio and watch MSNBC.

On the conservative side, we read posts on Town Hall, Drudge Report and National Review Online. We listen to 710 AM and tune into Fox News in the evening.

In an effort to maximize efficient use of facilities and save money, the Jefferson County Board of Education has convened a 30-member community committee to review its facilities. Forty-five options to adjust how different buildings are used have been developed, and four community meetings are scheduled over the next week to solicit public input on possible changes.

The Evergreen Park and Recreation District will hold a special meeting and continuation of the budget discussion on Nov. 18 at the Evergreen Lake House to discuss the topic of field use fees and other matters.

A regularly scheduled meeting of the board was held Nov. 17, but field usage fees were not discussed at that meeting.

Public comment will be accepted under the budget discussion.

The board expects to review and approve the entire budget at a special board meeting Dec. 11.